We have tested for the presence of the RHD gene in Africans and African Americans and found that the majority of D-negative Africans and about a quarter of D-negative African Americans have an inactive RHD gene with a 37 base pair (bp) insert and a nonsense mutation; the remainder have either the RHD-CE-D gene or a complete deletion of the RHD gene.
Most “Rh-” Africans carry an inactive RHD gene or a nonsense mutation
